“I fear that if these regulations are enforced, we may not be able to open for our 80th year next year.”

That’s an email from an Illinois camp director.

His camp is in its 80th year. Their population is primarily adults with disabilities, many of them coming back year after year for decades. He wrote because word travels fast in a field as small as ours.

What Just Happened

A few days before his email, the State Department issued an advisory to every J-1 sponsor in the country. Effective immediately, J-1 camp counselors could no longer be placed in any camp serving disabled adults over 21 years old.

Up until now, this regulation has always said “youth” without ever defining the word.

For decades, a dedicated group of camps has relied on J-1 counselors to help serve adults with disabilities. As far as we can tell, the department had been aware of this through reviews of the program and ongoing conversations with sponsors.

For reasons that are too complex for this newsletter, the department was recently poised to immediately begin to enforce the word “youth” on its face, leaving these camps and the adults they serve without access to camp counselors through the J-1 program.

Camps serving disabled adults for decades were informed they must replace their J-1 counselors before next summer, or at least make sure they weren’t going to work with adults.

Just over 3,000 exchange visitors come to the US each year to work at these camps. That’s just shy of 10 percent of all placements in the camp counselor category.

The programs that host them serve over 100,000 Americans with disabilities across virtually every state. For many families and their adult campers, these summer camps provide the most beloved experiences of the year.

A Second Letter

Frustrated and worried, camps wondered why the regulations would change so suddenly, with little advance warning.

A camp director in New Hampshire also wrote. Her camp has served campers with disabilities for decades as well. Campers who started as kids and simply aged into the adult programs. For most of them, the alternative is nothing.

“Turning these campers away because of an age restriction would be devastating.”

Nothing about these wonderful programs has suddenly changed. The campers are the same. The staff is the same. The impact is the same. The love and care are the same. And the 30 years of tacit awareness were the same — until just now.

A Different Kind of Problem

Most of what this newsletter covers is the work of building a camp presence in Washington. That means Hill meetings, legislation, and relationships with the people who write the rules.

This is different work.

The State Department has been a trusted partner of ours for years. The staff running the J-1 programs are wonderful people. That is what makes this harder.

When the rule comes from a friend, the work is quieter. The case gets made across the table. Everyone in that room wants to get this right.

What the Caucus Is Doing

A meeting at the State Department last Monday and lots of engagement by sponsors leading up to it pulled us back from the brink. For now. Big emphasis on for now.

The State Department issued updated guidance a few days ago. Effective immediately, the definition of “youth” at camps specifically designed to serve individuals with disabilities now includes campers 24 and younger.

For campers 25 and older, a one-year transition period runs through the 2027 season. This will all take effect in 2028. So there is some time, but it isn’t unlimited.

What we have now is a reprieve for this coming summer season for adult campers 25 and older.

The department is also opening up the entire camp counselor J-1 program for a formal review early next year. New proposed rules will be published for public comment, and every camp in the country will have the chance to weigh in.

ACA will be there, helping to organize feedback and engagement by our field. Our voices will be heard, and hopefully, we’ll get to a better place on all of this. We’ll be looking at other approaches as well, as the end of summer 2027 is coming all too soon.

This is the work of working in Washington. The caucus brings context to issues, the department makes room for engagement, and the 2026 crisis gets a 2027 fix. Is the issue solved? No, far from it. But we have a path forward, and the time to find win-win solutions.

The pressure is off for this coming season. The work has only just begun.

Join the movement. Get updates on the Camp Caucus and learn how you can support camp advocacy in DC.

Scott Brody is ACA’s Government Affairs co-chair and leads the association’s advocacy efforts in Washington, DC. He served as ACA National Board Chair during the COVID-19 crisis, helping guide camps nationwide through safe reopening while securing unprecedented federal support. A camp director for more than 30 years, Scott is Director Emeritus of Camps Kenwood & Evergreen and owner of Everwood Day Camp and Camp Sewataro. He has dedicated his career to advancing the life-changing impact of camp and championing its value on a national stage.